Next week the nation goes to the polls to elect the next UK Government.

The 2015 contest is tipped to be one of the tightest in a generation with economic growth at the heart of the campaign.

Here the main parties tell Business Post what they will do to boost the economy of North Wales and support businesses:

Conservatives

Welsh Conservatives know that businesses have been at the heart of our economic recovery. Since 2010, we have seen 22,400 new businesses set up across Wales and 54,000 new jobs created.

We now have the joint lowest corporation tax in the G7, but we must go further on business rates and responsibility for that lies with the Welsh Labour Government.

They need to get on and deliver for our SMEs which make up 99% of the private sector in Wales.

That’s why we must stick to a plan which is working for North Wales and for our whole nation.

Last week, the boss of Iceland, one of the biggest companies in Wales, based in Deeside backed the direction the Welsh Conservatives are taking.

We have come too far to risk going back to where we were when Labour left office.

Green Party

Greens are champions of small businesses and the local economy in Wales. Our priority is to create new jobs and training in the green industries.

Wales has a huge potential for renewable energy and we must invest in this industry for the good of our environment and our economy.

We would introduce practical measures to support small businesses. For example, we will make it easier for small businesses to employ people and contribute towards paying the living wage by using receipts from the wealth tax to reduce employers’ National Insurance in the long run to 8%.

We will keep trade local by allowing local authorities to favour local procurement and support local economies in Wales. We will improve the competitiveness of small firms by keeping corporation tax at 20% for small businesses, while raising it to 30% for larger firms.

Greens are unique among political parties in that we do not see economic growth as an end in itself.

The growth objective has resulted in ever increasing inequality, with the insecurity of zero hours contracts, unemployment and almost a million people relying on food banks.

We believe the economy should work for us all. Our economic policies promote a fair, just and more equal society while recognising that we live on a finite planet.

Labour

The Welsh Labour Government has continued to prioritise investment in the new infrastructure needed to underpin the Welsh economy.

In Labour we recognize the vital importance of this investment to underpin the economy, to help business and to support jobs. Welsh Labour takes a proactive approach to the economy and we have seen this rewarded with new foreign investment to Wales.

We know that small and medium-sized businesses are the life-blood of many communities.

They are vital for creativity, dynamism and jobs. We know that cash-flow is vital to any business, and Labour is determined to tackle the issue of access to finance.

The next Labour Government will prioritise small and medium-sized businesses by cutting and then freezing business rates.

Labour believes that we should never turn our back on the world, and so we value the benefit that our membership of the European Union brings to the economy of Wales.

From the port of Holyhead, to the Airbus plant at Broughton, along with the investment in our vital tourism industry and support for rural development, we know the importance of Europe to the business community. Businesses in Wales need a better plan.

Liberal Democrats

More people are in work today than ever before. The Liberal Democrats have ensured our economy is the fastest growing in Europe, however we recognise there is still more to do. We will take our economy from recovery into renewal.

Apprenticeships are key to our vision. Not only does this prove people with a decent starting wage but it ensures people are learning skills and a trade to help them begin their professional careers.

Welsh Liberal Democrats want to continue to develop a skilled workforce to support growth with a major expansion of high-quality and advanced apprenticeships. Wales needs a highly skilled workforce and flexible business support and finance.

We must continue to invest to grow sectors like advanced manufacturing that can provide high-skilled, sustainable jobs, open up the supply chain to more small and medium-sized businesses and support firms bringing activity back to Britain

We must invest in our infrastructure here in North Wales. The Welsh Liberal Democrats believe it is vital that the North Wales line from Holyhead to Crewe is electrified.

This is essential to ensure our region is better connected, more business friendly and so that passengers will benefit from faster and newer trains. It will also make North Wales more attractive to hauliers transporting goods to and from Holyhead, relieving pressure of the congested A55.

Plaid Cymru

Wales was once an economic powerhouse, a pioneer of industry and world-renowned for our raw materials such as coal and slate. But the recent decline in our economy is not inevitable.

Plaid Cymru has ambitious plans to rebuild and strengthen the economy. We want to attract and support businesses, nurture our own talent and upskill workers to take high-quality and well-paid jobs. Business rates is, by far, the number one issue raised by small businesses across Wales.

If we want our businesses to create employment we have to reduce the burden of business rates. That is why Plaid Cymru has pledged to reduce business rates for more than 83,000 businesses across Wales and bring more than 70,000 out of rates altogether.

New start-ups tell us that the first and often biggest problem they face is accessing finance. By establishing a new arm’s length business lending bank we can help them overcome this first hurdle.

But thinking big doesn’t always mean big-money investment. Plaid Cymru is a great advocate of improving current spending practices. Public sector procurement in Wales stands at £4.3bn a year, but by spending this more wisely, prioritising local businesses, we can create and support 50,000 jobs in Wales. All parts of Wales should have access to full Superfast broadband, opening doors for businesses to export.

Wales can be an economic success story, but this must start with fully supporting our businesses and industries, the engines of our future economic growth.

UKIP

UKIP said it is a party that believes in low taxation, enterprise and fairness.

A spokesman said: “Our economic policy and spending commitments are rooted in the savings we will make from leaving the European Union, making reasonable cuts to the overseas aid budget, reviewing the unfair Barnett Formula and cancelling HS2.

“We will, by the end of the next parliament: Raise the personal tax allowance to at least £13,000, taking those on minimum wage out of tax altogether; Raise the threshold for paying 40% tax to £55,000 and introduce a new 30% intermediate rate on earnings between £45,300 and £55,000; Abolish inheritance tax; Increase the transferable tax allowance for married couples to £1,500.